POLICE made 11 arrests at the Boardmasters Festival at Watergate Bay in relation to drugs offences, sexual offences and assault.

It was reported that three people have been charged for drugs offences, four released on bail, two cautioned and two released with no further police action.

Devon and Cornwall Police said there were a “small number “ of reported crimes at the festival, which are being investigated but stressed levels of crime and anti-social behaviour associated with the event “remain low.”

High visibility reassurance foot patrols were carried out in the town centre and the Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach festival sites, with those officers helping to prevent and detect crime.

Superintendent Russell Dawe, from Devon and Cornwall Police, believes its policing operation to support Boardmasters has been successful in achieving its aim to keep people safe at the event so they can enjoy the festival. This also encompasses the surrounding community during an already busy time of year.

The event attracted in the region of 58,000 including attendees and staff, at the festival itself, as well as visiting Fistral Beach and the Newquay area.

Supt Dawe said: “Each year we work with partners and event organisers as part of the multi-agency planning process and we have the collective aim to support and deliver a safe and enjoyable event for all.

“In collaboration with the festival organisers, our focus has been safeguarding those attending the event and the development of a safe environment, and where necessary having the correct support in place.

“Unfortunately, we did have an incident in the crowd on Friday, August 9, which resulted in some people being injured. Most of these were treated by medical staff on site but seven were transferred to hospital from the event. All were discharged after treatment.

“We recognise how such events can cause concern for those involved, especially with those that received injuries, and so it will be our priority to ensure the incident will be considered as part of our planned debrief after the event.”

Superintendent Russell Dawe added: “We have disrupted criminality and the supply of drugs, reduced anti-social behaviour, and supported any victims of crime or those with vulnerabilities. 

 “As part of our partnership approach, the organisers have very good welfare and safeguarding arrangements in place. We provided specialist officers to help respond immediately to any reports of sexual offences or concerns around drink spiking. This meant those small number of people impacted had immediate support by knowledgeable and expert staff and where required, we commenced a swift investigative response.

“Overall, I am really pleased and proud of the efforts police officers, staff and partners have made to deliver the security operation, and the proactive and preventative measures we undertook.

“We continue to develop and improve our approach to event policing to keep festivals of this nature safe and secure.”

A spokesperson for the festival organisers said: “We would like to thank our partners at Devon & Cornwall Police, who we work in close collaboration with year-round and during the festival period, for their continued expertise and contribution to Boardmasters.”